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Over 3.3 million foreigners settled their legal status in Russia amid pandemic — ministry

The majority of those foreigners (2.2 million) requested the authorities to extend their temporary stay permits

© Sergei Savostyanov/TASS

MOSCOW, April 3. /TASS/. More than 3.3 million foreigners, including illegal migrants, have settled their legal status in Russia since a presidential decree easing certain requirements for migrants came into force last April, the Russian Interior Ministry’s press service said in a response to a request from TASS.

The presidential decree allowing all foreign citizens to legally stay in Russia came into force in April 2020. It gives illegal migrants an opportunity to settle their status and legalize their stay in Russia. The decree was adopted amid the novel coronavirus pandemic and related travel restrictions, and has been extended until June 15, 2021.

"During the period while the decree <…> remains in force, over 3.3 million people have settled their legal status and will stay in Russia on legitimate grounds further on. This includes 500,000 people, who earlier violated their terms of stay," the Interior Ministry’s press service said.

The majority of those foreigners (2.2 million) requested the authorities to extend their temporary stay permits, 123,000 wanted to extend their visas, almost 3,600 applied for transit visas, over 3,400 asked for a temporary asylum. About 54,700 people applied for a working permit and over 921,000 - for a patent.

"Foreign citizens and stateless persons, including those who violated terms of their stay in Russia, are being informed about their rights and responsibilities. They have an opportunity to use those temporary measures for settling their legal status," the ministry said.

In the first two months of 2021, about 1,084,000 foreigners have been registered by Russia’s migration authorities.

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